54 



THE OOLOGIST ^^^5»), >(^V7 



whose farthermost leagues are ribbed 

 with ice, and bounded by vast 

 stretches of turbulent storm-racked 

 waters. The Straits of Magellan, the 

 distant Galklands, and the Kerguelen 

 and other islands of the antarctic seas. 

 And yet not one little scrap of knowl- 

 edge do we gain of the bird life of 

 these wild and distant lands, beyond 

 the fact that the eggs were taken on 

 such a date, and were fresh or other- 

 wise, and the name of the collector, 

 (perhaps?) who probably considered 

 that he had fulfilled all of his obliga- 

 tions to science when he collected the 

 eggs. 



I turn over the datas and nice, clean 

 backs stare mutely up at me: no lines 

 to tell of the abundance of the birds; 

 nothing to indicate that these eggs 

 were usual or unusual in size, shape, 

 or marking; nothing to tell me if 

 others of their species nested nearby 

 or not; nothing in fact, that my soul 

 craves for, from the hand of my fel- 

 lowman. 



I need not preach further about this 

 subject, but in conclusion only ask, 

 "Not for my sake, but for your own, 

 please let no space go to waste that 

 might impart useful knowledge, but 

 teach others what you can, for so shall 

 we find fruit." H. Arden Edwards 



Claremont, California. 



[We endorse every word of the 

 above. We have datas in our collec- 

 tion ranging from 1x2 inches to5x8 

 inches in size. Datas should be of a 

 size to just fit without folding, into a 

 No. 6 envelope, and be printed on 

 very heavy paper. — Editor.] 



Dear Mr. Barnes: 



Your Warbler number is one of the 

 intensely interesting ones. The cur- 

 rent number is worth dollars in field 

 experience. — Isaac E. Hess. 



An Experience With NuthatcFies. 



Charles F. Moore. 

 The following will serve to show 

 my feeling for the birds. On April 9, 

 1913, I found a Brown-headed Nut- 

 hatcher's nest. When I found this nest 

 I could not reach it on account of the 

 rottenness of the pine snag containing 

 it. So I broke off the snag about a 

 foot above the ground and let it down 

 to examine the contents. I counted 

 six young, a few days old. Then I 

 placed the snag in an upright position 

 again, leaning it against the broken 

 part still in the ground, and bracing it 

 with a stick. The next day the wind 

 began to blow, and by the late after- 

 noon a storm was brewing from the 

 west, straight down the river. I be- 

 gan at once to think of the broken 

 snag containing the Nuthatch nest, 

 that it would probably blow down and 

 destroy the nest full of young. About 

 6:30 in the evening I armed myself 

 with a shovel and a lantern and with 

 a friend rowed up the river about a 

 mile to the nest, notwithstanding the 

 wind and rain. The snag was still 

 standing when we reached the nesting 

 site, and we dug a hole, placed the 

 snag in it so that it could not fall, and 

 returned home wet but contented. 



iVIocking Bird and Green Snake. 

 While 1 was taking a set of four 

 Bell's Vireo eggs I heard two Mocking- 

 birds fighting in a small bush just in 

 front of me. I went over and a large 

 green snake was in the tree with a 

 young Mockingbird half swallowed. I 

 killed the snake and the birds sang his 

 funeral march. 



Ramon Graham. 



NESTS. 



July 8, 1915, found Meadow Lark 

 nest in corn field about one hundred 

 yards from fence; nest built of fine 

 dead grass placed on ground, close 



